The present invention relates to lever switches to be used in vehicles and composite switches using the same lever switches.
A lever switch used in a vehicle is mounted near a steering wheel. The lever switch is used in switching of functional equipment such as headlights, blinkers, wiper motors that activate windshield wipers on a front and a rear windshield, a washer motor that sprays wash fluid onto the windshield, and the like.
The foregoing conventional lever switch is described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 3 which shows a partial sectional view of the conventional lever switch.
A box-shaped insulating housing 1 made from resin has an opening on its right side. A slider 2 is accommodated in the housing 1 in a slidable manner. On the rear face and lateral (side) faces of slider 2, movable contacts (not shown) are provided. The movable contacts can be moved into and out of contact with fixed contacts (not shown) provided on the bottom or side faces of the housing 1 by sliding the slider 2, so that electrical on-off switching is carried out. Switch contacts 3 are thus formed. The left end (base end) of a lever 4 engages with the slider 2. The lever 4 protrudes from an opening 1A of the housing 1 in a rockable manner. On the right end (distal end) of the lever 4, a knob 5 is mounted. A rotary operating section 5A provided at the tip of the knob 5 accommodates a rotary switch 6. A lead wire 7 couples the rotary switch 6 in the knob 5 to a printed circuit board (not shown) in the housing 1. The lead wire 7 extends through an opening 5B on the left end (base end) of the knob 5 and an opening 1A of the housing 1.
In the structure discussed above, the knob 5 moves back and forth or up and down, thereby moving the lever 4 mounted to the knob 5, and causing sliding of the slider 2 in the housing 1 with respect to the contacts 3 formed between the slider 2 and the housing 1 so as to carry out electrical on-off switching. The electric signal produced by this electrical on-off switching is transmitted to an electronic circuit (not shown) of the vehicle, so that e.g., the headlights are switched.
A rotation of the operating section 5A disposed at the right end (distal end) of the knob 5 carries out electrical switching of the rotary switch contact 6 in the knob 5. The electric signal produced by this electrical switching is transmitted to the electronic circuit of the vehicle via the lead wire 7, to thereby operate the motors.
However, the foregoing conventional structure has the problem that an operator of the lever can see inside of the housing 1 and the knob 5, and can view the lead wire 7 running therethrough via a gap between the opening 1A of the housing 1 and the opening 5B of the knob 5. This arrangement looks bad and damages the appearance of the switch. Further, the lead wire is exposed to damage every time the lever is operated, which is a problem from a safety standpoint.
The present invention addresses the problems discussed above and aims to provide a good looking lever switch and a composite switch using the same lever switch.
The present invention provides a lever switch comprising:
a housing having an opening;
a slider slidably accommodated in the housing for sliding movement to cause electrical switching within the housing;
a lever engaged with the slider for causing sliding of the slider, the lever having a base end portion provided in the housing and engaged with the slider, and a distal end portion projecting outwardly from the housing via the opening;
a cover mounted to the housing to cover the opening thereof; and
a knob mounted to and surrounding the distal end portion, the knob having a base end portion facing the cover, and the base end portion of the knob having an opening through which the lever extends;
wherein one of the cover and the base portions of the knob is convex toward the other of the cover and the base portion of the knob, and the other of the cover and the base portion of the knob is concave toward the one of the cover and the base portion of the knob, such that the cover and the base portion of the knob have mutually complementary shapes facing each other.